Universität zu Köln

Kraege, Anton ORCID: 0000-0002-4741-5671, Punt, Wilko ORCID: 0000-0003-4047-1117, Doddi, Andrea ORCID: 0000-0003-3149-6304, Zhu, Jinyi ORCID: 0000-0003-1736-8680, Schmitz, Natalie ORCID: 0000-0002-4892-2085, Snelders, Nick C. ORCID: 0000-0002-2576-1928 and Thomma, Bart P. H. J. ORCID: 0000-0003-4125-4181 (2026). Undermining the cry for help: the phytopathogenic fungus Verticillium dahliae secretes an antimicrobial effector protein to undermine host recruitment of antagonistic Pseudomonas bacteria. New Phytologist, 249 (1). pp. 406-417. Wiley. ISSN 0028-646X

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Abstract

During pathogen attack, plants recruit beneficial microbes in a ‘cry for help’ to mitigate disease development. Simultaneously, pathogens secrete effectors to promote host colonisation through various mechanisms, including targeted host microbiota manipulation. Inspired by in silico antimicrobial activity prediction, we investigated the antimicrobial activity of Av2, an effector of Verticillium dahliae, in vitro. Furthermore, its role in V. dahliae virulence was assessed through microbiota sequencing of inoculated plants, microbial co-cultivation assays, and inoculations in a gnotobiotic plant cultivation system. Av2 appears structurally unique and lacks domains that hint towards its function. We show that Av2 inhibits bacterial growth and acts as a virulence factor during host colonisation. Microbiota sequencing revealed involvement of Av2 in suppression of Pseudomonas spp. recruitment upon plant inoculation with V. dahliae, indicating that Av2 suppresses the cry for help. We show that several Pseudomonas spp. are antagonistic to V. dahliae and sensitive to Av2 treatment. We conclude that V. dahliae secretes Av2 to suppress the plant's cry for help by inhibiting the recruitment of antagonistic Pseudomonas spp. to pave the way for successful plant invasion.

Item Type:	Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Kraege, Anton UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4741-5671 UNSPECIFIED Punt, Wilko UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4047-1117 UNSPECIFIED Doddi, Andrea UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3149-6304 UNSPECIFIED Zhu, Jinyi UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1736-8680 UNSPECIFIED Schmitz, Natalie UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4892-2085 UNSPECIFIED Snelders, Nick C. UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2576-1928 UNSPECIFIED Thomma, Bart P. H. J. UNSPECIFIED https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4125-4181 UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-812934
Identification Number:	10.1111/nph.70686
Journal or Publication Title:	New Phytologist
Volume:	249
Number:	1
Page Range:	pp. 406-417
Number of Pages:	12
Date:	29 January 2026
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	0028-646X
Language:	English
Faculty:	Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Divisions:	CEPLAS - Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences
Subjects:	Life sciences
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language AMP ; antimicrobial ; intermicrobial interaction ; microbe–microbe interaction ; microbiota ; plant pathogen English
['eprint_fieldname_oa_funders' not defined]:	Publikationsfonds UzK
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/81293